A Practical Look at the Ethics of Geospatial Data
There has been considerable discussion of data ethics in general over the last few years, with greater awareness of the use of data we now create as part of our day to day lives from the flavour of pizza we order to the photographs we share with our friends and family and of course the metadata, the data about data that can provide third parties with power insights.
There has been less discussion however of the issues specifically associated with the nature of Geospatial data and both the benefits and risks of sharing this information implicitly and explicitly on the web.
A working group of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has been developing a practically focused document highlighting some of the characteristics of Geospatial or Spatial Data in W3C terms, that are important to understand within the broader topic of data ethics.
For example, spatial data may be seen as a fingerprint: For an individual every combination of their location in space, time, and theme is unique. The collection and sharing of individuals spatial data can lead to beneficial insights and services, but it can also compromise citizens' privacy. This, in turn, may make them vulnerable to governmental overreach, tracking, discrimination, unwanted advertisement, and so forth.
The use of spatial data is accelerating, not only owing to technological developments such as Artificial Intelligence and Earth Observation, but also as a result of crises such as COVID-19 and climate change which accelerate the deployment of data and technology. This is happening on a small and local scale, as well as on a large and global one. Precisely because these data are potentially personal, and its use is becoming commonplace, it is urgent to internalize shared principles for the responsible use of data to achieve greater common value, better data and better products. These are preferably intrinsic principles that guarantee the safety and privacy of people, our social values and human dignity.
This document authors hope it will become a living document, ready to be enriched with ethical wisdom from across the world. Current ideas presented in the note are framed by a western perspective, so further international collaboration is desired, and it aims to map the geospatial ethical landscape from a number of different perspectives, including those of users, developers and regulators, to act as a guide rather than listing shrink-wrapped solutions. Important topics are highlighted to help formulate a responsible position, as each use of location data has its own nuanced details requiring proper consideration and judgement by those involved. Failing to do so can have serious and unexpected consequences, such as the military bases exposed by fitness app data or the innocent cyclist harassed online due to a timing error in a police appeal for information.
Raising public awareness of geospatial data is key. While most people are aware of the dangers associated with sharing their financial details with others, few appreciate the potential risks associated with sharing their location and many are completely oblivious.
Too often, data ethics is presented as a solution to avoid the unacceptable consequences of data misuse. This note will aim to demonstrate that this conversation is not only necessary out of fear of misuse, but more importantly, to unlock full potential of spatial data. Users will only contribute their location data if they trust the systems collecting these data and drawing inferences from them. These data may, in turn, improve the well-being and sustainability of our societies.
The draft document may be found at https://w3c.github.io/sdw/responsible-use/ and comments and contributions are very welcome via email to [email protected]
You can read more insights from techUK's #GeospatialFuture campaign here!
Laura Foster
Laura is techUK’s Head of Programme for Technology and Innovation.
